Lambayeque is a coastal region in northwestern Peru known for its rich Moche and Chimú historical past and related archeological sites and museums. The region’s name originates from the ancient pre-Inca civilization of the Lambayeque, also called Sican culture.
The territory of the Lambayeque Region is made up of wide plains irrigated by rivers from the Andes; in most of the arid area, irrigation is needed to support any farming. The fertile river valleys produce half of the sugar cane crop of Peru. In addition, Lambayeque and the Piura Region provide most of the rice crops consumed in Peru.
Increased agricultural harvest is expected with completion of the Olmos Transandino Project. The water supply project will transfer up to 2 billion annually of water from the Huancabamba River in the Cajamarca Region east of Lambayeque.
In the smaller scale farming of earlier centuries, the Olmos Carob Tree Forest supported goat herds that fed on carobs. The fine goatskins were tanned to create the fine, pale, leather known as “cordoban” or “cordovan”, from the Spanish town of Córdoba, where the process was developed. Goat fat was used to make soap.
There are two small islands off the Pacific coast of the Lambayeque Region: Lobos de Afuera, and Lobos de Tierra; there was a dispute with the Piura Region over control of the latter island.
The region is bordered by the Piura Region on the north, the Cajamarca Region on the southeast, the La Libertad Region on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west.
The region is divided into three provinces (provincias), which are composed of 38 districts (distritos). The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are:
- Chiclayo (Chiclayo)
- Ferreñafe (Ferreñafe)
- Lambayeque (Lambayeque)
- Pómac Forest Historical Sanctuary
- Túcume Pyramids
- Bruning Museum
- Tumbas Reales de Sipán Museum
